The Slovenian Gyro Gearloose
Cooperation with educational institutions
The budding mechatronic Timotej Krampl likes to tinker. As a final school project, he developed a hand hoover made of Geberit pipes. The reward: top grade and the prospect of a permanent position at Geberit.
For some it’s a waste of time, for others the source of sparkling ideas: social media. For Timotej Krampl (18) from Slovenia, it was the latter. In search of a topic for his final assignment, the secondary school student scoured YouTube. In the process, he came across a hoover video and figured: “That can also be done with Geberit pipes.”
No sooner said than done: The clever tinkerer came up with a concept and made sketches – from design to electronics. Within a week, he assembled a fully functional hand hoover from Geberit Silent-PP pipes and connecting pieces.
Motivation is rewarded
He obtained the necessary material directly from his employer. Since his first year as a student at the Technical School Center in Maribor, Timotej Krampl has regularly completed practical assignments at Geberit in Ruše. His talent was noticed at an early stage. “He was very motivated and curious right from the start,” says HR Business Partner Janja Polenšek Davidovski. His personality was convincing. For this reason, Geberit even financed him a scholarship for his further education.
“Would like to do more”
Cooperation with secondary schools and universities is still in its infancy in Slovenia (see box). At Geberit, they would like to do more, as Head of HR Mojca Grafenauer explains. Unfortunately, she says, there are only apprenticeships for toolmakers in the country, but not for other technical fields such as mechatronics, mechanical and electrical engineering. “A big minus,” she thinks. That’s why Geberit offers traineeships for students in these areas.
Promising approach
The experiences so far have been promising. Like the one with Timotej Krampl, who has the prospect of a permanent position in the maintenance department. He would be happy to continue working with his team colleagues. His goal? “To become a good mechatronics engineer,” he says modestly. One is for sure, he will continue to tinker as part of his add-on training as a mechanical technician. And who knows what creative solutions he will inspire his colleagues with in the future.
Vocational training in Slovenia
In the late 1980s, before the collapse of socialist Yugoslavia, the education system in Slovenia was highly centralised. Vocational education played an important role; trainees learned practical skills in vocational schools. After Slovenia’s independence in 1991, the education system was comprehensively reformed. As a result, the focus shifted from practical to theoretical education. For some years now, the Slovenian government has been stepping up its efforts to promote dual vocational education and training and thus also cooperation between educational institutions and companies.